Breaking: John Hynes Out, Andrew Brunette In as Predators Head Coach

Barry Trotz may not officially take over for David Poile as general manager until July 1, but he’s already putting his stamp all over the Nashville Predators.

Sources confirmed to Nashville Hockey Now that the Predators are hiring Andrew Brunette as the fourth head coach in franchise history, replacing John Hynes after three-plus seasons. Brunette also interviewed for the head coaching job with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

A formal announcement is expected sometime Tuesday evening. NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes first reported the news.

Sources also confirmed that Spencer Carbery, who was hired as head coach of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday morning, also interviewed for the position.

Brunette has just 75 games of head coaching experience, all coming with the Florida Panthers last year after taking over for Joel Quenneville who resigned seven games into the season.

The 49-year-old Brunette led the Panthers to a 51-18-6 record and an Atlantic Division championship before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the playoffs. He was a finalist for the Jack Adams award.

The Panthers and Brunette parted ways on June 22 of last year when the team hired Paul Maurice as the team’s full-time head coach. Brunette spent the 2022-23 season as associate head coach of the New Jersey Devils.

Brunette’s coaching career begun in 2012 when he joined the Minnesota Wild as special assistant to the general manager. He worked his way up the ladder in Minnesota as an assistant GM for one season then switching to director of player personnel for a season before joining the Panthers as an assistant coach.

Hynes, who had one more year left on his contract, had a 134-95-18 regular-season record (.542 win percentage) and a 3-11 postseason record (.214 win percentage) as Predators coach.

*This is a developing story and Nashville Hockey Now will have more updates as they become available.

Follow Michael Gallagher on Twitter: @MGsports_